Index device in which a selected sheet is held down and sheets thereabove lifted



Jan. 10, 1950 w. FAAS 2,49 ,167 INDEX DEVICE IN WHICH A SELECTED SHEET IS HELD DOWN AND SHEETS THEREABOVE LIFTED Filed Sept. 2, 1944 '2 Sheets-Sheet l w m a R F m E W a a 1 Y 1 B 9 w m 4 w M MW 0 UV/I sT m 1 l Mm 7 K m d F 4 E G H-./ i a CD A B 4/ y Jan. 10, 1950 w. FAAS 2,494,167

INDEX DEVICE IN WHICH A SELECTED SHEET IS HELD DOWN AND SHEETS THEREABOVE LIFTED Filed Sept. 2, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 AHLSU INVENTOR. M1747? F5 98 iatented Jan. 10, 1950 INDEX DEVICE IN WHICH A SELECTED SHEET IS HELD DOWN AND SHEETS THEREABOVE LIFTED Walter Faas, South Orange, N. J .assignor to The Bates Manufacturing Company, West Orange, N. .l., a corporationof New Jersey Application September 2, 1944, Serial No. 552,484 20 Claims. (01; 40-104) My invention relates generally to index devices such as telephone and other directories, calendars, listing devices, registers, recipe indexes radio station indexes, and the like, and more particularly to that type of index device which comprises a stack or pile of superimposed cards or sheets which are alphabetically or otherwise suitably indexed and are so associated that they are adapted to be opened up or separated, as for example, in a manner similar to the pages of a book or a loose-leaf binder, to render available any desired card or sheet or section of the device. Generally the stack of cards is mounted in a base to which is hingedly connected a cover or carrier for covering the cards normally and for lifting the cards above the one to which it is desired to refer so as to expose the latter.

A principal object of my invention is to provide an index device of the character described in which a sheet or card may be selected and the cover or carrier mechanism may be simultaneously operated by a single action of the operator.

Another object is to provide an index device of this kind in which the sheet selecting mechanism and cover opening mechanism is under the control of the operator at all times.

Another object is to provide a device of this kind in which no adjustment of the sheet selecting mechanism is necessary.

Another object is to provide a device of this kind in which the cover is free of marks and openings of any kind.

Another object is to provide a device of this kind which is neat and attractive in appearance.

Another object is to provide a device of this kind that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and positive and emcient in operation.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the description of the invention to follow taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a top plan view of an index device embodying one form of my invention.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l with parts broken away for the sake of clearness.

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the device of Figure 1 showing the cover in open position.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 44 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the plane of the line 55 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the cover latching mechanism.

Figure '7 is a top plan view of the front part of an index device embodying a modified form of my invention, the cover being removed and parts being shown in section.

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the sheet selecting and cover opening mechanism of the device of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, taken on the plane of the line 9-9 of Figure 8, showing the mechanism for lifting the sheets with the cover of the device of Figure '7.

Figure 10 is a side view of an index device embodying still another modified form of my invention.

Figure 11 is a side view of the device of Figure 10 with the cover in open position.

Figure 12 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line l2--l 2 of Figure 10.

Referring to Figures 1 to 6, inclusive, my improved index comprises a substantially rectangular base it formed of plastic material or any other suitable material and having a front wall II with a cut-away portion, a rear wall 12 and side walls I}? defining a compartment or well M. The base may be provided with feet l6 for supporting it on any suitable surface.

, A cover and card-carrier or card lifter H! of similar material to that of the base is hingedly secured thereto by means of a hinge rod l8 fastened to the base and extending through ears l9 formed on a transverse plate 2?} fastened to the inner surface of the cover at its inner end. The cover is urged to open position as shown in Figure 3 by a spring 2i coiled around the hinge rod I8, one end of which rests upon the base and the other end presses against the cover. The cover is of substantially the same width as the base but is not quite so' long, as will be seen from Figures 1 and 3. Fastened to the inner surface of the cover at each side thereof near its front is an inwardly extending combined latching and card pickeup dog 22 which coacts with a holding or locking device mounted in the well of the base for holding the cover normally closed.

5 The holding device consists of a detent plate or table 23 extending across the width of the well and pivotally mounted on pins 24 supported by the side walls of the base and extending into the well, and-through ears 25 formed on the plate. At each side edge, the plate is formed with an upstanding cut-out latching finger member 26 formed with a lateral lug 27 at its upper end, said lug being provided with a camming surface 28. A coiled spring 29 having one end seated on the base and its other end impinging against the under side of plate 23 biases the plate with its finger members into latching position at all times. An out-struck lug 30 formed on the plate at its rear edge and centrally thereof limits the downward movement of the plate at that point. The finger members are so positioned that when the cover is swung to closed position such as shown in Figures 4 and 6 the latching dogs will slidably engage the camming edges thereof and slide along same and downwardly through opene ings 3! in the plate until the lugs 21 of the finger members 26 reach notches 32 formed in the edge of the dogs when said lugs will be snapped into interlocking engagement with the dogs and hold the cover in closed position.

A plurality of sheets or cards 33 are supported in stacked formation in the well of the base with their inner ends loosely and hingedly fastened to split hinge rings 34 mounted on the hinge rod in the rear of the base, said rings passing through openings in the sheets. This connection permits the sheets easy free movement in a substantially arcuate path with the pivotal movement of the cover toward open or closed position and furthermore permits ready insertion and removal of the sheets.

The outer free ends of the sheets rest on plate or table 23 and extend beyondthe front edge of the cover, being exposed to view when the cover is closed. These outer ends have tab portions or edge portions 35 bearing index characters, herein illustrated as the characters of the alphabet, and have right-angular cut-away portions or notches to the right of the tabs as indicated at 36 in Figure 2. The sheets with their tabs and cut-away portions are so arranged and grouped that two successive characters are located the one to the rear of the other in pairs forming two transverse rows of characters with the result that the cutaway portions of the sheets of a pair are of equal width but the cut-away portion of the upper sheet of the pair is longer than that of the lower sheet, and the cut-away portions of the successive pairs of sheets are progressively wider from the lowermost pair to the top pair of sheets. For example, the individual sheets bearing the letters U and V respectively, forming a pair, have the same width tab and have cut-away portions of the same width. Similarly the individual sheets bearing the letters S and T respectively, forming a pair, have tabs of the same width and have cutaway portions of the same width, but the width of the tab of this latter pair S and T is less than that of the tabs of the pair U and V, and the width of the cut-away portions of said pair "8 and T is greater than that of the cut-away portions of the pair U and V. The tabs of the lower sheets of said pair are longer than the tabs of the upper sheets to permit a portion of each lower sheet to be exposed for receiving the index characters; and the indexed edges of the cards are substantially displaced from and parallel to the axis of tilting of the table 23.

While the characters of the alphabet are shown arranged successively, it will be noted that the character M is shown paired with M, the character PQ paired with R and the character WX paired with YZ. It will be understood, however, that any desired characters might be used in any desired combination or pairing.

7 The sheets 33 are of a width slightly less than that of the well of the base, leaving a space 31 on each side of the stack of sheets.

Now more specifically describing the sheet pickup dogs 22, each of them has an elongated body or shank portion 39 formed at its upper end with a lateral extension 49 and formed at its other end with a slanting nose portion 4! extending in the same direction as the extension 40. Nose M is provided with a slanting camming surface 42. The dog is pivotally mounted at its upper end on a pivot pin 43 mounted in a groove 44 in the under surface of the cover, and its lateral extension extends inwardly into the groove and is constantly engaged by the free end of a coiled spring 45 which is housed in said groove and has its other end fastened to a transverse plate 46 secured to the under side of the cover by screws 41. The plate also covers the groove and protects and conceals the spring. The springs normally actuate the dogs to swing their nose portions toward the pile of sheets, and when the cover is in closed position as shown in Figure 5, the dogs extend inwardly through the spaces 3? on the sides of the stacked sheets with their nose portions 41 underneath the lowermost sheet of the stack, as shown in Figure 5.

In using my improved index, assuming the cover is closed, the finger of the user is placed on the exposed portion of the tab of the desired sheet, which exposed portion bears the letter desired, for instance, the letter V. Pressure of the finger on this V card will force said V card and the cards stacked therebelow downwardly, rocking the plate 23 on its pivot pins whereby the latching fingers 26 are moved out of engagement with the notches in the latching dogs 22. Thereupon, the spring 2| will come into action and move the cover upwardly, opening the same to the position shown in Figure 3. The cover on its upward travel carries the dogs 22 upwardly with it. The selected sheet V and the sheets therebelow being held by the finger of the user against upward movement, ofier resistance to the upward movement of the dogs so that the dogs swing on their pivot pins 453, the lowermost corners of the stack of sheets being engaged by the inner slanting edges of the nose portions 4! and deflecting the pawls outwardly about pins 43 against the action of springs 45 so that the nose portions clear the side edges of the held stack of sheets and move upwardly along said side edges until they clear the top held V sheet, at which time the springs urge said nose portions inwardly underneath the next adjacent sheet above the V" sheet whereby said next adjacent sheet and all sheets thereabove are carried upwardly away from the held sheets to the position shown in Figure 3. The selected sheet, i e., the V sheet, is thus exposed for any desired purpose.

When the cover with its attached sheets is swung downwardly for closing, the lower camming edges 42 of the dogs will first strike the upper side edges of the held stack of sheets thereby deflecting the dogs outwardly to permit their lower ends to clear the held stack and move downwardly until the nose portions 41 clear the bottom of the side edges of the stack, at which time the springs 45 will force the nose portions ends inwardly to the position shown in Figure 5. Upon the closing movement of the cover, the dogs 22 will also slidably engage the latching fingers 26 of the detent plate 23 until the lugs 21 of said fingers move into the notches 32 and become interlocked therewith for holding the cover closed.

In the form of my invention shown in Figures '7, 8 and 9, the base 58 is formed of plastic or other suitable material and has a front wall 5!, side walls 52 and a rear wall (not shown), forming a Well orcompartment 53. A suitable cover 54 is hingedly mounted at its rear end (not shown) to the base in a manner such as shown in Figures 1 to 6, inclusive, and at its forward edge is formed with a hooked portion 55.

A number of superimposed sheets 56 are stacked directly on the floor of the base and are pivotally connected at their rear ends to the base for swinging movement with the cover in any suitable manner, for example as shown in Figures 1 to 6, inclusive. The other end of each sheet has an indicia-carrying tab 56 and a cut-away portion 56 to expose the tabs of all underlying sheets. As shown, the tab of each sheet bears two successive alphabetical characters and the tabs are arranged in a single row transversely of the sheets. 1

The mechanism for holding the cover in closed position and for selecting the desired sheet or portion of the index comprises a vertically arranged detent plate 5'! pivotally mounted inside and adjacent the front wall of the base on pivot pins 58 supported in the side walls of the base and extending through ears 59 formed on said plate. The plate extends across the width of the well and is formed at its upper edge with a curved hooked portion 66 for coaction with the hooked portion 55 of the cover as seen in Figure 8, to hold the cover closed.

Slidably supported in the front wall of the base at different horizontal levels and opposite the sheets are a number of fiat bars 6|, there being one bar for each sheet at a level just above the surface of its respective sheet, when the sheets are in stacked relation. Each bar may be suitably indexed to correspond to the index of its respective sheet. Each bar extends through an opening in the front wall and has a downwardly extending flange 62 at its outer end for convenience in actuating. The bar is provided with a reduced portion at its inner end forming a shoulder 63. The reduced end extends through an opening 64 formed in the plate 51. A spiral spring 65 is housed in a recess formed in the inner surface of the front wall and has one end secured to the inner wall of said recess and its other end fastened to a downwardly extending pin 66 carried by the bar and movable in a cut-away portion in the inner surface of the front wall. The spring urges the rod to outwardly extended position as shown in full lines in Figure 8.

Carried by the cover at each side thereof is a card pick-up dog 6? formed with a lateral extension 66 at its top end and with a nose portion 69 at its bottom end, said nose portion having upper and lower'camming surfaces 10 and H, respectively. The upper end of the pawl is pivotally mounted on a pin 12 fastened to the side wall of a compartment 13 formed on the inner surface of the cover. A coiled spring 14 positioned .in the compartment has one end fastened to the floor thereof and its other free end bearing against the lateral extension 68, urging it upwardly and urging the lower nose portion 69 inwardly. The sheets as seen in Figure 9 are wider than the base and extend over its side edges so that when the cover is in closed position, the nose portion of the dog extends beneath the lowermost sheet of the pack.

In operating the device shown in Figures '7, 8

and 9, a fiat bar 6|, indexed the same as the sheet desired, for example, KL, is pushedinwardly a sufiicient distance so that the reduced inner portion thereof projects over the surface of the desired sheet KL and between it and the next adjacent sheet thereabove or sheet IJ. Continued inward movement of the bar will bring its shoulder 63 into engagement with the edges of opening 64 in plate 51 whereby said plate will be moved inwardly out of engagement with the hooked portion 55 of the cover at which time the springs at the rear of the cover will come into play to swing the cover upwardly. On its upward travel, the dogs 61 will move upwardly with the cover, the camming surfaces 70 riding over the edges of the lowermost sheets thereby deflecting the dogs and permitting the nose portions to ride upwardly until they reach the space between the held sheet KL and the first separated or loose sheet above it, that is until they reach the space between the KL and IJ sheets, at which time the springs 14 will move the nose portions inwardly under said sheet IJ and carry it and the sheets above it upwardly with the cover.

When the pressure on the bar 6| is released the spring 65 pulls the bar outwardly to normal extended position and the plate 57 to normal vertical position.

When closing the cover, the camming surfaces H of the dogs will engage the uppermost held card KL, thereby deflecting the nose portions outwardly permitting them to ride downwardly to normal position under the stack of sheets. The shapes of the hooked portions 55 and of the cover and plate are such that they readily slide over one another to inter-locking position.

In the form of my invention shown in Figures 10 to 12, inclusive, the base member 15 has side walls 16 and a rear wall Tl forming a well 18, the front of the base being open. A cover 19 is hingedly mounted at its rear end to the base in any suitable manner, such as on hinge pins 86.

A plate 8i is positioned in the well with its rear end hingedly secured to the base as at 82. The plate is substantially the width of the well and the front end thereof protrudes outwardly of the front of the base.

Positioned inside of the base adjacent each side wall is a lever 83 extending substantially the length of the base, and rigidly connecting said levers at. their forward ends is a transverse bar 84 positioned underneath and in abutting engagement with the lower surface of the plate 8|. The free ends of the levers extend to a point beneath and adjacent the rear of the cover. The.

levers are pivotally secured near their forward ends to the side walls of the base by means of pivot pins 85, the transverse bar 84 and the levers 83 being adapted to move as a unit. When the cover 19 is in its closed position {as shown in Figure 10 the levers 83 will lie with their upper edges substantially parallel with the under side of the cover and the bar 84 will hold the plate 8| in the upwardly inclined position shown in Figure 10. When downward pressure is exerted on the forward end of the plate 8|, bar 84 will be forced downwardly, the levers 83 will rock in an anticlockwise direction about their pivot, and their rear ends will slidingly engage the underside of the cover moving the cover into its open position shown in Figure 11.

A plurality of superimposed sheets 86 are supported on the plate 84 with their inner ends suitably hinged to the rear of the base and with their outer ends protruding outside of the front of the base. The free outer ends of the sheets which are exposed, when the cover is closed as shown in Figure 10, are provided with tabs suitably indexed with characters, such as the characters of the alphabet as shown in the form of Figure 1. The

sheets are wider than the plate 8| and extend over the side edges thereof as seen in Figure 12.

On each side, adjacent its outer end, the cover. carries a spring pressed dog 8? such as dog Bl oi Figure 9. When the cover is closed the nose portions 88 of these pawls extend underneath the lowermost sheet of the stack and the side walls are cut away as indicated at 89 to permit the pawls to be deflected outwardly in their movement.

In this form of the invention, the sheet is selected by placing a finger on the tab of the sheet desired as in Figure 1, and pressing downwardly thereon. This downward pressure will swing the pate at about the pivots 82 and thereby will actuate the levers 83 upwardly and open the cover in the manner previously described. The cover on its upward swing will carry the dogs 8? along with it and the nose portions of these dogs will be snapped inwardly underneath the sheet next above the held sheet and will carry the sheets above said held sheet upwardly with the cover to open position so that the held sheet will be exposed for any desired purpose.

The cover and levers will return to their normal closed positions by gravity when the pressure is removed from the held stack of sheets.

While I have shown three preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that the details of construction of the device may be modified and changed within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. The: combination of a base, a plurality of relatively movable cards normally arranged in a stack on said base and swingable upwardly therefrom, each card having a portion thereof accessible so that any card may be contacted at said portion and held down with all cards beneath it,

a card lifter above and movable away from said it stackand having means to releasably engage said cards, and means for causing elevation of said lifter while a card is contacted and held down so that said lifter carries with it all cards not held down.

2. The combination of a base, a plurality of relatively movable cards pivotally connected to said base to swing upwardly therefrom, each card having a portion thereof accessible such that each card may be. contacted at said portion and held down. with all cards beneath it, a card lifter pivo ally connected to said base and overlying said cards and having means to releasably engage them, and means for causing elevation of said lifter while a card is contacted and held down so that said lifter carries with it all cards not held down.

3. A list finder including a base, a plurality of relatively mavable sheets normally arranged in a stack on said base and swin'gable upwardly therefrom, each sheet-havinga portion thereof accessible' from the top of the stack such that each sheet may be pressed at. said: portion and held down with. all sheets. beneath. it, a sheet lifter overlying said? sheets and pivotally' connected to said base, means on the base whereby pressure on said portiorr of any of saidsheets causes said sheet lifter to be elevated, and means on said lifter whereby said lifter asv it is elevated lifts the sheets above the one pressed upon.

4. The combination of a base, a plurality of re latively movable cards normally arranged in a stack on said base and swingable upwardly therefrom,- each card having a portion thereof accessible from the: top of the stack such that. each card may be contacted at said portion and held down with all cards beneath it, a card lifter above and movable away from said stack, and means on said card lifter to yieldably slide over the edges of all cards beneath the uppermost of the held cards and engageable under the edge of the card next above said uppermost held card when said litter is moved away from said stack so that said lifter carries with it all cards not held down.

5. The combination as defined in claim 4, with the addition of means controlled by pressure on said portion of any of said cards for causing such movement of said card lifter away from the stack.

6, The combination as defiined in claim 4, with the addition of devices each for selectively contacting and holding down one card, and means controlled by actuation of any said device for causing movement of said card lifter away from the stack.

7. The combination as defined in claim 4, wherein said means includes dogs pivotally mounted on said card lifter and spring means normally actuating said dogs into position to engage the edges of said cards.

8. A device of thekind described including a base, a plurality of superimposed sheets swingably connected with the base, a cover hingedly connected with the base, and means in common including a plate pivotally connected with the base, and controlled by a single manual movement in one direction for selecting a sheet and for controlling movement of said cover away from said base, and means on said cover for connecting the sheet 01- sheets above the selected sheet to and swinging them with said cover.

9. A device of the kind described, including a base, a plurality of superimposed sheets swingably connected with the base, a cover hingedly connected with the base and means in common actuated by a single movement for selecting a sheet and for swinging the remaining sheet or sheets with the cover including a plate pivotally connected with the base and pivotally mounted dogs carried by the cover to engage said remaining sheets.

10. A device of the kind described including'a base, a plurality of superimposed sheets swingably connected with the base, a cover hingedly connected with the base, a plate pivotally connected with the base and adapted to initiate opening movement of the cover, and spring pressed dogs pivotally mounted on the side edges of the cover'and adapted to engage the side edges of a sheet or sheets during the opening movement of the cover and move the same with the cover.

11. A device of the kind described including a base, a plurality of superimposed sheets swingably connected with the base, a cover hingedly connected with the base and spring biased away therefrom, means in common actuation of which is initiated by a single manual movement for selecting a sheet and for connecting the remaining sheet or sheets to the cover to swing therewith, said means including a plate pivotally connected with the base and latching devices on the plate and cover under the control of said plate for releasably holding the cover closed.

12. A device of the kind described including a base, having a well therein, a plate in said well pivotally connected with the base, a plurality of superimposed sheets pivotally connected at their rear ends to said base and supported at their front ends on said plate, outwardly extending fingers on the plate, a cover hingedly connected to the base, said cover being spring biased away from said base and having latching devices adapted to coact with said fingers for releasably holding the cover closed, means whereby a sheet may be selected and held stationary, and means actuated by the movement of said plate for movin the sheet or sheets above said selected sheet with the cover to open position.

13. A device of the kind described including a base, a plate pivotally connected with the base, a plurality of superimposed sheets pivotally connected at their rear ends to said base and. supported at their front ends on said plate, outwardly extending fingers on the plate, a cover hingedly connected to the base, said cover being spring biased away from said base and having laching devices adapted to coact with said fingers for releasably holding the cover closed, and spring pressed dogs pivotally carried by the cover and adapted to engage and move a sheet or sheets upon the opening movement of the cover.

14. A device including a base, a plurality of superimposed sheets swingably mounted on the base, a cover hingedly connected with the base and means for selecting a sheet and for swinging the remaining sheet or sheets with the cover to open position including a plate pivotally connected with the base having a hooked portion adapted to releasably engage the cover, a plurality of bars each slidable over the surface of one sheet for holding the same against movement and adapted to engage the plate and move same out of engagement with the cover, and pivotal dogs carried by the cover for engaging a sheet or sheets above the sheet held by the bar and to move the same to open position with the cover.

15. A device of the kind described, including a base, a plurality of superimposed sheets swingably mounted on the base, a cover hingedly connected with the base and having a hooked portion, a plate'pivotally connected with the base at one edge and having a hooked portion at its other edge adapted to releasably engage the cover for holding the same closed, said plate having a number of openings, a number of bars each slidably supported by the base and movable through one of the openings in said plate into overlying relation to the surface of one of said sheets for holding the latter and all sheets beneath it against movement, shoulders on said bars adapted to engage the plate and move same out of engagement with the cover, and pivotal dogs carried by the cover and adapted to engage a sheet or sheets during opening movement of the cover upon disengagement of the plate with the cover for carrying said engaged sheet or sheets to open position.

16. A device of the kind described, including a base, a plurality of superimposed sheets swingably mounted on the base, a cover hingedly connected with the base and having a, hooked portion, a plate pivotally connected with the base at one edge and having a hooked portion at its other edge adapted to releasably engage the hooked portion of the cover for holding the same closed, said plate having a number of openings, a number of bars slidably supported by the base and movable through the openings in said plate into engagement with the surfaces of the sheets for holdin said sheets against movement, shoulders on said bars adapted to engage said plate and move same out of engagement with the cover, pivotal dogs carried by the cover and adapted to engage a sheet or sheets for carrying same to open position, and spring means for returning said bars and plate to normal position.

17. A device of the kind described including a base, a plurality of sheets swingably mounted on the base and extending outside of the base, a cover hingedly connected with the base and means for selecting a sheet and for swinging the remaining sheet or sheets with the cover to open position including a plate pivotally connected to the base and positioned beneath said sheets and extending outside of the base, at least one lever pivotally connected to the base, means for connecting one end of said lever to said plate to swing said lever in one direction as said plate is pivotally moved, the other end of said lever being in sliding engagement with the cover for moving the same, and devices carried by the cover for engaging a sheet or sheets during opening movement of the cover.

18. A device of the kind described including a base having front and side walls, a plate pivotally connected at its rear to said base and extending outside of the front wall, a plurality of superimposed sheets having their rear ends pivotally connected to the base and their front ends supported on said plate and extending outside of the front wall, a cover hingedly mounted on said base at its rear end, a lever pivotally mounted between its ends on the inside of each side Wall and having a portion underlying said plate so that said lever will be swung in one direction as said plate is pivotally moved in one direction, the free ends of said levers being in slidable engagement with the inner surface of the cover for moving said cover, and spring pressed pawls pivotally mounted on the cover adapted to engage a sheet or sheets for carrying same to open position with the cover.

19. A device of the kind described including a base, a plurality of superimposed sheets swingably connected with the base, a cover hingedly connected with the base, and dogs mounted at the side edges of the cover and normally spring pressed against the side edges of said sheets and adapted to enter beneath the side edges of a sheet during the opening movement of the cover and move said sheet and all sheets thereabove with the cover.

20. A list finder comprising, in combination, a card supporting table, a plurality of indexed cards supported on said table, means pivotally supporting said table for tilting on an axis parallel with and displaced from the indexed edge of the cards, card lifting means overlying said cards and carrying means to releasably engage the cards, means coacting between the table and lifter to elevate the lifter when said table is tilted by pressure on the index of a wanted card, said lifter carrying with it all cards not held down by pressure on the index of the wanted card.

WAL'I'ER FAAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,895,409 Drucker Jan. 24, 1933 2,105,696 Lewis Jan. 18, 1938 2,141,761 Pollock Dec. 27, 1938 2,329,300 Rummler Sept. 4, 1943 2,341,983 Faas Feb. 15, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 374,177 Italy Aug. 17, 1939 

